Broncos sail past Saint Mary's, 78-76
By The Associated Press
Kyle Bailey made a conscious decision to stop missing his shots, then he carried Santa Clara to another exhilarating victory over its rival.
Brody Angley hit an off-balance 10-foot jumper with 2.4 seconds left and Bailey scored nine straight points in the final 3:14, lifting the Broncos to a 78-76 win over Saint Mary's on Friday night.
"I just figured I had no choice but to make a shot after all the ones I missed," said Bailey, 5-for-16 from the field. "I wasn't frustrated, but it was time for me to make some shots. This is definitely a confidence boost."
Daniel Kickert missed a running 12-footer at the buzzer, and pandemonium ensued on the court as students rushed to celebrate the win that knocked the Gaels out of a first-place tie with 14th-ranked Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference standings.
Kickert, who scored 30 points, booted the game ball into the bleachers in frustration.
"Both teams made big shots," Gaels coach Randy Bennett said. "They played well. Five turnovers for the game - that's unheard of. We came in trying to give ourselves a chance to win on the road. I'm proud of our guys because they made the right play every time down the stretch. It's one of those deals where I'm not going to second guess much we did."
The Gaels (20-7, 7-3 WCC) had hoped to avenge a 23-point loss to the Broncos from Jan. 15, but Bailey wouldn't allow it.
He finished with 14 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals, and Doron Perkins had 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals as the third-place Broncos (13-12, 6-4 WCC) gained a game on the Gaels.
After E.J. Rowland tied it at 76 with 35.2 seconds left, Santa Clara got the ball back at midcourt with 14 seconds to go and found Brody after a play designed for Ethan Rohde inside didn't work. Brody scored over Jason Walberg.
Brody's only a freshman, but he understands this rivalry after players watched film this week from Saint Mary's-Santa Clara games dating back to the days when Steve Nash ran the point for the Broncos.
"It was kind of an in-the-moment reaction," Brody said of the game-winner. "Like coach said, every win is a big win."
There were six ties in final 4:20 and points on six consecutive possessions over the last 2:04.
After Travis Niesen made it 76-74 with 45.5 seconds left, Rowland hit a short jumper in the paint moments later - he scored 10 of his 17 points in the final 9:02.
This has to feel good for Santa Clara after it lost last season's meetings by 32 and 30 points. The Broncos - who gained national attention after shocking second-ranked North Carolina in November - came out inspired in the second half before a near-capacity crowd in the Leavey Center, the site of next month's conference tournament.
After Paul Marigney's 17-footer gave the Gaels a 67-65 lead with 3:32 left, Bailey tied it on the other end. Kickert hit a 3 moments later for Saint Mary's and Bailey again came up huge with a 3 to make it 70-all at 2:36.
The Gaels were coming off a tough road trip to the Northwest in which they lost to Gonzaga by five and survived a scare at Portland to beat the Pilots 73-72.
Now, they need to get back on track again.
"I think it will only impact us if we fold and start losing games," Rowland said. "If we regroup like we've done, it will be OK."
Santa Clara used an 8-1 spurt early in the second half to take a 46-42 lead, while Saint Mary's missed four straight shots. Ethan Rohde's 3 with 14:28 to go made it 52-46, then the Broncos scored four more unanswered points for a 10-point lead. Saint Mary's later had a 10-2 run to pull within 63-60, but the Gaels were sloppy with the ball.
Kickert scored 17 of his points in the first half, making all three of his 3-point tries, and Frederic Adjiwanou had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Saint Mary's leading scorer Marigney, averaging 14.9 points per game, took only three shots in the first half and scored four points before the break. He finished with eight points on 2-for-7 shooting - including 0-of-4 from long range.
Santa Clara led 37-36 at halftime.